Apparatus for drilling horizontally extending holes in embankments and walls



J. N. PITCHER March 28, 1961 2,976,942 APPARATUS FOR DRILLING HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING HOLES IN EMBANKMENTS AND WALLS Filed Aug. 12. 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR JOHN M P/TCHER migm Q E BY .wfl-

ATTORNEYS March 1961 J. N. PITCHER 2,976,942

APPARATUS FOR DRILLING HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING HOLES IN EMBANKMENTS AND WALLS -Filed Aug. 12, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 K INVENTOR.

JOHN N. P/TCHER Maw A T TOPNEVS March 1961 J. N. PITCHER 2,976,942

APPARATUS FOR DRILLING HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING HOLES IN EMBANKMENTS AND WALLS Filed Aug. 12, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 mvENroR. JOHN M P/TCHER BY W4 M 1 A 7' TORNEVS Uniedsee Par o" APPARATUS FOR DRILLING HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING HOLES IN EMBANKMENTS AND WALLS John N. Pitcher, 2852 Adeline Drive, Burlingame, Calif.

Filed Aug. 12, 1957, Ser. No. 677,686

2 Claims. (Cl. 175-127) This invention relates to apparatus for drilling generally horizontally extending drain holes in embankments, walls and the like, and has for one of its objects the provision of apparatus that is compact, rugged, readily positioned and secured in the desired location for drilling, and which is adapted to automatically accommodate itself to drilling the desired holes in soft or hard material such as concrete, rock, earth or in such material in succession, without injury or detriment to the apparatus or drill.

Another object of the invention is the provision of apparatus for drilling generally horizontally extending drain holes in embankments, rock or concrete walls, etc.; and which apparatus is compact and in which hydraulically actuated means is utilized for effecting the desired pressure on the drill rod longitudinally of the latter, and which means is compactly arranged to provide for relatively long movement of the drill actuating mechanism ina relatively small space.

2,976,942 Patented Mar. 28, 1961 apparatus. The end frame member 3 is at the forward end of the apparatus and the member 4 is at the rear end. Correspondingly, the cross member 5 is adjacent to the forward end and cross member 6 is adjacent to the rear end.

Rigid with the oppositely outwardly facing sides of the pair of frame members 2, and adjacent to the projecting ends of the cross members 5, 6 are supports generally designated 7, each of which has a bottom plate 8 and right angle vertical walls 9, 10. Walls 10 form the forward and rear walls on the forward and rear plates respectively adjacent to the forward and rear ends of the frame, while walls 9 are opposed to and spaced from the side frame member adjacent thereto. Thus these supports 7 form upwardly opening pockets in which the end portions of a supply of extra drill rods may be supported, said end portions resting on the bottom plates 8.

Each of the side frame members 2 is in the form of a channel strip, and these members or strips are disposed so that the open sides of the channels are in opposedly directed relationship. The channel bottoms 11 are vertical and the channel sides 12, 13 are horizontal with side walls12 at the top and side walls 13 at the bottom. Thus wall 12 becomes the top wall of each channel and wall 13 the lower wall with 11 being the vertical wall connecting the top and lower walls.

The lower walls 13 extend toward each other farther than the top walls 12 and the marginal portions along the free edges of these lower walls are turned upwardly to form flanges 14 having upwardly directed free edges.

' These flanges constitute tracks extending longitudinally A; stillfurther object of the invention is the provision of a portable, readily located apparatus for drilling generally horizontally extending drain openings in walls, embankments, etc., and in which the drill rod is moved longitudinally under the influence of hydraulic pressure from a variable delivery pump whereby the pressure on the drill will automatically remain substantially constant irrespective of the degree of resistance'to drilling by the drill. .Other objects and advantages will appear in the description and in the drawings. 7

In the drawings, Fig. l is a top plan view of the apparatus. Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus. Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary View taken along line 3-.--3 of Fig. 2, the ground wheels being omitted. v

.Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary end View as seen from line 4-4 of Fig. 1. t

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, part sectional and part elevational view of the carriage and hydraulically actuated means for moving the drill and carriage and for rotating the drill.

Fig. 6 is a reduced size side elevational view of the apparatus showing in dot-dash lines the movement of the drill and carriage in a drilling operation, and in which view the apparatus is removed from the wheels and is supported on the ground.

- In detail, the apparatus shown in the drawings for the purpose of illustrating the invention comprises a horizontallyextending, elongated frame generally desisgnated 1. Said frame has spaced, parallel, side frame members 2 that. are connected at their corresponding opposite ends by end members.3, 4. Also. extending below said side frame members 2 and perpendicular thereto, adjacent to, but spaced from the ends of the frame, are a pair of cross members 5, 6. These members 5, 6 are secured to the side frame members and project at their ends outwardly of the latter.

In; the description, the use of the words forward, forwardly, rear and rearwardly and words of similar import'will be used with respect to theends ofjthe of the frame on which are supported two coaxial pairs of peripherally grooved wheels providing a forward set or pair of wheels 15 and a rear set or pair 16.

The wheels 15 of the forward set are carried on the ends of an axle 17 that extends across and is secured to the forward head 19 of a hydraulic cylinder 20 (Fig. 5) and the wheels 16 of the rear set are on the ends ofan axle 21 that, in turn, is secured to the head 22 of the other end of cylinder 20.

Within said cylinder 20 is a piston 23 having any suitable sealing ring thereon, and this piston is rigid with a hollow forward piston rod 24 and with a hollow rear piston ,rod 25 that extend respectively through heads 19, 22 to the forward and rear end members 3, 4 of the frame to which they are secured.

The rear axle 21 that carries wheels 16 also carries a pair of coaxial peripherally grooved rotatable sheaves or pulleys 26, 27, the'sheave 26 being adjacent to one of the wheels 16 and the other sheave 27 is adjacent to the other wheel 16.

A pair of coaxial forward sprocket'wheels 28 are carried on forward shaft 17 and a similar pair of sprocket wheels 29 are carried on the rear axle 21.

A pair of rear sprocket chains 30'are connected at one of their corresponding ends to a carriage 31 and these chains extend around the sprocket wheels 29 and are connected at their opposite ends to an element 32 that, in turn, is rigid with a central cross frame member 33 (Fig. 5) that extends between frame members 2 at a point substantially centrally between the ends'of frame 1.

A pair of forward sprocket chains 34 are secured at one of their ends to the carriage 31 at approximately the same points as those at which the chains 30 are connected. Said forward chains 34 extend over sprocket wheels 28 and are connected at their other ends to the element 32. As a practical matter each of the chains that extends over one of the corresponding front and rear sockets may be continuous and rigidly clamped to the carriage centrally of the upper run when the carriage is centrally between the element32 along the lower run, if desired. Usually a the upper runs of the chains are continuous and are merely secured to the carriage by any suitable clamp on the carriage. The chains may have free ends rigidly secured to. the element 32..

. On the carriage 31 is a conventional variable delivery hydraulic pump 35, preferably of the Vickers type, that is actuated by rotation of a shaft as. Shaft 36 has a sprocket wheel 37 thereon that is connected by a sprocket chain 38 with a sprocket wheel 3; on a shaft iii that is driven by any suitable. motor or enginedl. Pressure and discharge lines respectively designated 42 and 43 extend from pump to a conventional control box 44- from which one pipe 45 extends to the lower side of carriage 31 where it connects with one end of a pressure hose 46. This hose 46 extends around the rear hose sheave 26 and below the latter and the lower wall of frame member 2. and back to a point centrally between theends of the frame 1, where it connects. with one end of a rear pipe 47. This rear pipe 4.7 is Within the side frame member closest to sheave 26 being supported on the lower wall 13 thereof, and it extends to the rear end of the rear piston rod 25 where it connects with and opens into the rear end of the bore 48 in said rear piston rod. The forward end of the bore 48 opens into the cylinder adjacent to the piston 23.

A pipe 49 similar to pipe 45, extends from the control box 44 to the lower side of carriage 31 where it connects with one end of a pressure hose it}. This hose t? extends over the sheave 27 and below the latter where it extends back to a central point between the ends of frame 1, at which point it connects with one end of a pipe. This pipe 51 lies on the lower Wall of the side frame member 2 that is nearest to sheave 27 and extends to the forward end of the frame where it connects with the forward end of the forward piston rod 24 and is in communication with the forward end of the bore 52 that extends longitudinally of said rod 24 to a point adjacent to the piston 23. At this latter point the bore opens into cylinder 20.

The control box 44 contains a valve (not shown) that is movable upon manual manipulation of control arm 53 for reversing the flow of hydraulic fluid in the pipes 45, 49 so that pipe 49 will become the pressure line and pipe 45 the discharge line in one position of the valve and the reverse situation will occur in the other position of the valve. This valve structure is common, so is not illustrated in detail.

The pump 35 includes a conventional control valve actuated by manual rotation of a Wheel 54- for regulating the pressure of the fluid to the one hose or the other according to which is the pressure hose and which is the discharge hose. For example, if the wheel 54 is set to deliver 300 lbs. p.s.i. then the normal operation of the variable delivery hydraulic pump will maintain a 300 lb. pressure irrespective of the resistance encountered by the element moved by the fluid, in this case the carriage and the drill carried by the latter, which will be explained in detail shortly. One suitable example of this pump is the pump well known in the trade as the Vickers Variable Delivery Hydraulic Pump, made by Vickers Inc. of Detroit, Michigan, a subsidiary of the Sperry Corpora tion, and which pump consists of a multi-cylinder, axial piston, variable stroke pump with suitable ports and relief valves to protect against excessive pressure and a control, such as wheel 54 for varying the displacement of the Rotatably supported on the carriage at a level above the side frame members is a hollow horizontal shaft 56. This shaft extends longitudinally of the frame 1 and has a threaded forward side of the carriage that is threaded or otherwise suitably formed for connection with one end of a conventional drill rod having a drill bit on its opposite end. In actual practice the drill rods are t ireaded for the drill bit in the same manner as. the forward. end of shaft 56 so that any number of the. drill rods may be secured together in end to end relation with the forward rod having the bit.

The rear end of shaft 56 is adapted to be secured to a hose that would be stationary, insofar as rotation is concerned, relative to the shaft. Such a coupling for the hose may be a tubular section 58 that extends through a packing nut 59 into the bore of the shaft 56. The outer end of this section is rigid with the carriage and is threaded for the hose. Such a hose is not shown, but it would lead to a pump adapted to pump water or mud into the shaft 56 and through it into the drill rods and bit for ejection at the bit in the usual manner. The customary practice of providing the water or mud and recirculating it is used, there being nothing novel in this.

The shaft 56 is provided with a sprocket wheel 60 that is connected by a sprocket chain 61 with a sprocket wheel 62 on one end of a hollow shaft 9i? that, in turn, is rotatable on a shaft 63. The shaft 63 is in alignment with and-connected to the engine shaft 4%.

This shaft 63 mounts a reversible conventional. planetary gear transmission assembly 64' that enables rota tion of shaft 9% in one direction or the other at a reduced speed of approximately 3 to 1 relative to shaft 46 according to which of the two drums 64, 65 is held through actuation of bands connected with a lever 66.

The carriage 31 supporting the pump, motor etc., is mounted on wheels 67 carried on stub shafts on plates 92 (Fig. 3) that, in turn, are rigid with the carriage, and which wheels are within the side framemembers 2. Said wheels 67 roll on the bottom or lower walls 13 of said channels at one side of the pipes 47, 51 respectively. These pipes are preferably adjacent to flanges 14 and there is clearance for them so that there will be no interference with movement of the carriage.

The structure, hereinabove described, which includes all elements carried on the frame 1, is adapted to. be supported on ground wheels for movement of the. ap, paratusover the ground.

Such a pair of coaxial ground Wheels is indicated. at 68, said wheels being secured on the opposite outer ends of. a pair of coaxial axles that, in turn are rotatably supported within an axle housing 70 for rotation therein relative to the housing. The adjacent ends of the axles terminate in a differential housing 71 wherein they are connected through conventional gearing with a right angle drive shaft 72 (Fig. 3) that projects horizontally forwardly from the housing 71. A sprocket wheel 73 is secured on shaft 72..

The axle housing 71 has a pair of upright supports 74 rigid therewith, which supports have horizontal platform 75 thereon (Fig. 3) on which the lower sides of. the side frame members 2 are adapted to be supported. Vertical plates 76' extend upwardly from the oppositely outwardly facing edges of the pair of platforms to extend over the walls 11 of the channels, and screws 77 carried by said plates are adapted to secure the plates 76 to the side frame members. This structure, including the axle housing, virtually provides a cradle on which the frame 1' is adapted to be supported. Upon releasing screws 77 the cradle and wheels 68 may be removed from the frame.

Normally this cradle and wheels as above described may be relatively close to one end of the. frame and the opposite end may be connected by any suitable hitch to a pulling of any kind, such as an automobile, tractor etc. When it is so pulled, the carriage. 31 is preferably moved to a position over the cradle having wheels. 68 so there is virtually no Weight on the. leading end.

Inasmuch as the carriage carries a motor, the apparatus maybe moved under the power thereof by providing a caster wheel 78 under the cross member 5 or 6 that is remote from the ground Wheels, which cross member has a vertical opening adapted to receive a vertical spindle 79 on the forks that support wheel '78. This caster is readily removable from the cross member.

A. sprocket wheel 80 having an internally threaded hub is then screwed onto the threaded end er the shaft 56 and thecarriage is moved to a position in which the sprocket wheels 73, 80 are on the same plane and .a sprocket chain 81 is mounted on said wheels to connect them. This completes a driving connection with the motor 41 and the apparatus can be moved over the ground and readily guided by an operator by reason of the swivelly mounted caster wheel. i

In operation the apparatus is moved to the desired location with frame positioned so that the forward end faces and is adjacent to the embankment or wall that is to be drilled into.

Assuming the carriage and ground wheels are in the position indicated in Fig. 2, the operator can readily position blocks under the forward end after removal of the caster wheel and moving the rear end downwardly. Carriage 31 can then be readily moved to the forward end of the frame and the rear end then lifted to elevate the frame from the ground wheels including the cradle connected therewith. The ground wheels and cradle may then be removed and blocks placed under the rear end, or the latter may be lowered to the ground. Usually the frame is tilted so its forward end is inclined upwardly so the drain holes formed by the drill will drain.

. After the frame is in the desired position, stakes 81' may be driven into the ground through openings'SZ" that are formed in the projecting ends of the cross frame members 5, 6.

The carriage is then moved to the rear end of the frame and the rear end of a drill rod 83 having a conventional rotary drill bit 84 on its forward end is secured to the threaded end of shaft 56.

When the carriage 31 is at the rear end of the frame 1 and a drill rod is connected to shaft 56, the forward end of the rod will extend slightly past the forward end frame member 3.

This forward end member carries a horizontally split bearing 85 (Fig. 4) having rollers 86 on the lower part adapted to support the drill rod for rotation and for axial movement of the rod as the drilling proceeds. The upper half of the bearing also carries a roller 87, and said upper half is pivotally connected by a pivot 88 to the lower half so. that the upper half can swing from over the pipe as indicated by the arrow, and when so swung the drill rod can be lifted out of the bearing.

A clamping bolt 89 opposite to pivot 88 is adapted to releasably hold the bearing closed.

With the drill rod supported in bearing 85, and the engine started, the drill rod shaft 56 will commence rotation in the desired direction by movement of the control lever 66 to brake the desired drive of pair 64, 65 thereof. As already stated, there is approximately a 3-1 reduction in the speed of rotation of shaft 63 relative to that of motor shaft 49, and sprocket wheels 60, 62 may have a l to 1 ratio or any other desired ratio. This is optional, and the ratios given are merely by way of one example,

The desired pressure adapted to be applied to the drill is regulated by the wheel 54 and upon movement of control arm 53 in the direction for movement of fluid into the forward end of cylinder 20 (head 19 being adjacent to piston 23) the carriage will commence to move forward at a uniform rate and the drilling operation will commence. The driving connection between the carriage 31 and the cylinder 20 through the sprocket chains and sprocket wheels as described, provides for a greater length of travel of the carriage than that of the cylinder, thus making the hydraulic drive for the carriage compact and practical.

The provision of the variable delivery hydraulic pump in the apparatus is very important since the pressure applied to the drill will remain the same irrespective of the degree of the resistance it encounters. Thus the drilling operation becomes virtually automatic without fear of injury or detriment to the apparatus.

After each movement of the carriage from one end of the frame to theothe'r, the drill -rod in the hole thathas been dug may be quickly disconnected fromshaft 56.;by reversing the rotation of the shaft, and the carriage run back to the rear end of the frame. Another drill rod is then connected with the preceding one and with the shaft 56 and the operation is continued. As many drill rods may be added as isrequired.

After the drilling operation is concluded, thedrill rod or rods may quickly be withdrawn from the hole by manipulation of the; proper controls as described hereinabove.

In the above operation, it should be mentioned that the attachment of a hose to the rear end of shaft 56 to provide a supply of water or mud to the bit, is effected.

Upon completion of a drain hole the apparatus may be quickly moved to the next location and the drilling operation is repeated. I It is'to be understood that the detailed description and drawings are by way of example of a preferred form of the invention, and are not to be considered as beingrestrictvie of the invention.

1. Apparatus for drilling generally horizontally extending holes in embankmentsand walls comprising; a horizontally elongated frame having opposite ends, a car-'- riage, wheels mounting said carriage on said frame for movement of said carriage longitudinally of said frame, a rod extending longitudinally of said frame between said ends thereof and means rigidly securing the ends of said rod to said ends of said frame with said rod below said carriage, a horizontally elongated hydraulic cylinder, wheels mounting said cylinder on said frame for reciprocable movement of said frame, a piston rigid with said rod positioned within said cylinder intermediate the ends of the latter, a pair of sprocket wheels carried by said cylinder at the ends thereof, a sprocket chain extending over said wheels having an upper horizontally extending run and a lower horizontally extending run extending between said sprocket wheels, means connecting said upper run with said carriage and means connecting said lower run with said frame, rotatable drill supporting means on said carriage adapted to support a horizontally elongated drill rod in a position projecting generally horizontally from one end of said frame and to carry said drill for movement with said carriage, power means on said carriage connected with said rotatable drill supporting means for rotating said drill and hydraulic power means including conduits respectively opening into said cylinder at points adjacent to opposite sides of said piston for admitting fluid under pressure into said cylinder at one side or the other for moving said cylinder in one direction or the other according to the side of said piston into which such fluid is admitted, and control means for so admitting said fluid and ground wheels for supporting said frame for movement to and from a drilling location, means for driving said ground wheels from said power means including an axle secured to said wheels and driving means detachably connected with said power means and with said axle.

2. Apparatus for drilling generally horizontally extending holes in'embankments and walls comprising: a horizontally elongated frame having a forward end and a rear end, a carriage spaced between said forward end and said rear end of said frame mounted on the latter for reciprocable movement thereon longitudinally thereof between said forward end and said rear end, drill supporting means rotatably mounted on said carriage for rotation about an axis extending longitudinally of said frame and adapted to hold a drill rod for rotation therewith in a position of said rod extending longitudinally of said frame and projecting past said forward end of the latter, power means on said carriage connected with said drill supporting means for rotating the latter, a horizontally elongated cylinder having heads at its opposite ends, Wheels supporting said cylinder on said frame in a position extending longitudinally of the latter and for reciprocable movement of said cylinder longitudinally thereof, a piston rod coaxial with said cylinder extending through the latter and through its said heads, and means connecting the ends of said piston rod with the ends of said frame, a piston rigid on said piston rod at a point, spaced between said heads when said cylinder is spaced between the opposite ends of said frame, a pair of sprocket wheels respectively rotatably carried by said cylinder at its opposite, ends for rotation about horizontal axes extending normal to the longitudinal axis of said cylinder, 21 pair of sheaves respectively rotatably carried by said cylinder at one of the ends of the latter for rotation about the axis of said sprocket wheels, a sprocket chain extending over said sprocket wheels of one pair thereof having an upper run extending between the latter and rigidly connected with said carriage at a point intermediate said pair of sprocket wheels, said chain having a lower 'run extending between said pair of wheels and rigidly connected with said frame at a point intermediate said pair of sprocket wheels, a pair of hydraulic hoses respectively extending over the sheaves of said pair thereof having upper and lower runs extending to points respectively intermediate the ends of said frame, a pair of rigid conduits respectively connected with the lower runs of said pair of hoses, one conduit of said pair thereof including abore in one end portion of said piston rod coaxial therewith opening into said cylinder at one side of said piston and the other conduit of said pair including a bore in the other end portion of said piston rod coaxial therewith opening into said cylinder at the other side of said piston means including a pair of rigid pipes connected respectively with said upper runs of said hoses for delivering fluid under pressure into one end or the other end of said cylinder for moving said cylinder in one direction or the other as desired whereby said cylinder and said carriage may be moved in one direction or the other longitudinally of said frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,295,320 Humphreys Feb. 25, 1919 1,585,668 Hansen May 25, 1926 2,075,572 Curtis Mar. 30, 1937 2,097,561 Curtis Nov. 2, 1937 2,103,252 Gartin Dec. 28, 1937 2,128,240 Foster Aug. 30, 1938 2,704,654 Banck et al Mar. 22, 1955 2,834,576 Ivey May 13, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 752,541 Great Britain July 11, 1956 

